After a three-decade stint on the Las Vegas Boulevard, the dancers from the revue Jubilee! took a final choreographed kick in 2016. The show, famous for its intricate costumes designed by celebrated designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who labeled it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Currently, almost a decade later, showgirls, or at least the glamorous showgirl look, is experiencing a revival.
The Sultan of Glitz
Referred to as the “sultan of sequins”, Mackie has made dramatic stage sparkle his defining aesthetic, outfitting everyone from Marilyn Monroe to music superstars. Recently, a “see-through” bodysuit he made for Cher in 1978 sold for $57,600, far exceeding its estimated price, while a shimmering tasseled bodysuit with lamé wings that Mackie designed for Tina Turner for a 1977 performance sold for $19,200.
“I believe it looks more attractive for the new generation of stars who is seeking something other than what they knew from childhood”, he stated in an interview with a publication. “New stars are striving for a glamorous, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Pop Culture Resurgence
It’s a look that sashayed all the way to the epicenter of mainstream fashion in 2025 thanks to a chart-topping superstar. In the past few months, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s classic Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her 12th studio album. The crystal-covered bra and thong, feathered armbands and shimmering headpiece were ideal for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She isn't alone. This year, glamorous nods have been incorporated by pop stars including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in glitter, cut-outs and feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist a fashion expert explained to Vogue he wanted to bring “a showgirl spirit” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, the backup dancers waved giant ostrich feather fans.
Drawing from History
Lipa, Carpenter and other hitmakers also draw on historical performances, including burlesque and chorus line references. The outcome are worlds away from the 90s Britney Spears era of short shirts and utilitarian trousers, and street-style dance moves that came before them.
But not everyone are on board with this showgirl renaissance. A former performer, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who performed in the 2000s says the trend is “confusing”. She thinks the word showgirl title is being “employed as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now seemingly Taylor Swift.”
The Highly Sought-After Vintage Look
For millennial and young adult stars, Mackie’s vintage designs have become extremely desirable. In 2024, a style icon honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through sequined dress created by the designer in 2001, which was inspired by one he designed for Cher to wear in 1967. Later that year, another pop star paid an undisclosed sum to buy the Mackie tasseled mini dress she had worn at an awards show to perform at the Grammys. In September, Carpenter wore a series of classic Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a hit among fashion collectors.
“The showgirl aesthetic evoke nostalgia for a past glamour,” says Su Kim Chung, head of special collections at the University of Nevada, who researches the story of showgirls. “Now it is seen as a sort of ‘safe’ appeal because it has been adapted. It has got all the elegance, the rhinestones and the sparkle but without the bare skin.”
More Than Simply Style: An Icon of the City
The expert says the showgirl image are key to the imagery of Las Vegas. She points to ex-mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was surrounded by two showgirls. Even though Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-centric productions, Chung says they are still employed as an symbol of the city, appearing at corporate events and in marketing. “The showgirl is still a lasting icon of Vegas spectacle,” the expert says.
An Allure of Escape
The former showgirl says the complete change of a stage character is part of the attraction. This idea Swift hints at in a latest documentary series that captures the behind-the-scenes action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense preparations, workouts and countless concerts across dozens of cities, each running for 3.5 hours.
She recalls her own stage routines as “similar to running a marathon in stilettos every night”. Her feathered headdress was 34lbs. “I had to wear it all the way up the staircase to the stage from the dressing rooms three floors below in the lower level. I had to start early for my entrance so I could rest before I went on stage. You are perspiring the whole time but maintaining this illusion that it’s simple and gorgeous and ethereal.”
It could be this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the complexity of 2025 there is a desire for escapism. Is there anyone better to emulate than such icons, who have always personified dreams, flawlessness and a realm where nobody falters.
